They left the house, all of them in tears, and as it appeared, deeply impressed with the truths which had been exhibited.
After he had concluded these remarks, M. ---- requested that some of the remaining Bibles and Testaments might be brought and laid before him on the table. These he distributed gratuitously to all present who had not before been supplied, and who were unable to purchase them. While he was doing this, many who had previously received the sacred volume, came forward and manifested their gratitude by laying upon the table their various donations of from two to ten francs[3] each, till, in a few moments, the table was well nigh covered. M. ---- told them he was unwilling to receive money in that manner, and wished them to put their gifts into the hands of the widow, accompanied by the names of the donors, that they might be regularly accounted to the Bible Society. This they consented to with some reluctance, when the widow brought from her drawer a purse containing a hundred and seventy francs, saying to M. ----, that he could not refuse that money, as it was the proceeds of Bibles and Testaments which she had sold in compliance with his directions. M. ---- replied to her, that he had indeed requested her to sell these volumes to such as were able to purchase, that he might ascertain whether there were persons in that neighbourhood who sufficiently appreciated the word of God to be willing to pay for it; but, that object having been accomplished, it was now his privilege, on his own personal responsibility, to place the hundred and seventy francs in the hands of the widow, to be distributed, in equal portions, to the three unfortunate families whom they had mentioned us having recently lost their husbands and fathers by the caving in of a coal-pit.
[Footnote 3: Five francs are nearly equal to one dollar.]
On hearing this, they together, spontaneously as it were, surrounded M. ----, and with tears streaming from their eyes, loaded him with their expressions of gratitude and their blessings, rendering it the most touching scene which M. ---- ever witnessed.
Amidst all these tokens of their Christian affection, M. ---- was compelled to prepare for his departure, and imploring the richest of heaven's mercies upon them, bade them an affectionate farewell.
The whole company followed him to the carriage, and just as he had reached it, he once more addressed them, saying, "My dear friends, if any of you have not yet submitted yourselves to God, and are out of the ark of safety, I beseech you 'give not sleep to your eyes, nor slumber to your eye-lids,' until you flee to the Saviour. And those of you who have tasted that the Lord is gracious, live near to God, bear cheerfully the cross of your Redeemer, follow on to know the Lord and do his will, and by his grace reigning in your hearts, you shall come off conquerors, and more than conquerors!"
When he had said this, and had again commended them to the God of all mercy through a crucified Redeemer, he drove off amid their prayers and blessings, to see them no more till that day when they shall meet in the kingdom of their Father, where sighs and farewells are sounds unknown, and where God shall wipe away all tears from every eye. After M. ----'s return to Paris, he had the pleasure to learn from the widow that all the Bibles he had left with her were disposed of, and that many, in various directions from the village, were earnest to obtain them, but could not be supplied. In the meantime a deep interest in the spiritual welfare of these villagers had diffused itself beyond the limits of Paris, or even of France. The first sixteen pages of this Tract having found its way to England, had been published by the Religious Tract Society of London, and had obtained a very wide circulation. A parish in one of the interior towns of England had forwarded to M. ---- twenty pounds sterling for the purchase of Bibles, to be presented to the widow for gratuitous distribution; and a family of Friends from Wales, having read the narrative, visited M. ---- at Paris, and proceeded thence to the Village in the Mountains, where they tarried no less than three weeks, assuring M. ----, on their return to Paris, that it had been the most interesting three weeks of their lives.
As the proceeds of the twenty pounds, M. ---- forwarded to the widow fifty Bibles and fifty Testaments, with a selection of several other choice books and Tracts. These Bibles, Testaments, and Tracts, were all actually disposed of in eight days, of which the widow gave early information, accompanied by letters to M. ----, and to the benevolent donors in England, expressing, in the most cordial manner, her gratitude, and that of those who had thus been supplied with the word of life. She gave a particular statement of the eagerness with which they had been read; of their distribution in many Catholic families, and the conversion of some to the truth as it is in Jesus. She informed that many individuals and families were still unsupplied; and for herself, and those around her, expressed her thanksgivings to God for the wonders of his love in inspiring the hearts of his children to unite their efforts in Bible and other benevolent institutions, and to contribute of their substance to extend to the destitute a knowledge of the Gospel.
The last letter which M. ---- received from the widow, before he left the country, contained two hundred francs, which she and her children had contributed as a donation, in acknowledgment of the Bibles and Testaments which he had, from time to time, forwarded.
M. ---- replied to her that it gave him more joy than to have received twenty thousand francs from another source, as it testified their attachment to the word of God. He returned her the full amount of their donation in Bibles, with two hundred and fifty Testaments from the Society, together with fifty from himself, as his last present before his departure, and also six hundred Tracts and several other religious hooks. Pointing out to her an esteemed friend in Paris, to whom, if further supplies should be needed, she might apply with assurance that her requests would be faithfully regarded, and exhorting her to remain steadfast in the faith, and to fix her eye always upon the Saviour, M. ---- commended her to God, in the fervent hope, that, through the unsearchable riches of his grace, he should hereafter meet her, and her persecuted associates in that world where "the wicked cease from troubling, and the weary are at rest."